Sunday 25 March 2012 17.59 EDT
First published on Sunday 25 March 2012 17.59 EDT

Swansea's unlikely hopes of European qualification received a setback with this defeat by Everton which ended a run of three victories over Wigan, Manchester City and Fulham that had catapulted Brendan Rodgers' team up to eighth in the Premier League table.

Rodgers admitted his side had not been at their best against a disciplined Everton and said the defeat served as a reminder of the hard work his squad have had to put in to be a force at this level.

"Because of the level these players have played at they are permitted to have a bad game every now and then," he said. "There were not many players who were poor but we misplaced some passes we would normally make.

"But we are working and operating in what is the art of the underdog. As the underdog we are always trying to find ways to beat Goliath.

"For us sometimes that is about being different and unpredictable. On this occasion being different wasn't working.

"So we then changed it, made three substitutions and changed the system.

"It gave us a wee bit more possession but not quite that cutting edge.

"But we have three wins out of four this month and we sit in the top 10 in the most competitive league in the world and, considering where we have come from, it's incredible," said Rodgers.

The win was secured by Leighton Baines's exquisite free-kick and Nikica Jelavic's tap-in, moves Everton up to 40 points.

The Scot said: "Once you get to 40 points you can look to see what you can do, maybe some of the clubs above us are too far away but we will see what we can do and if we can catch them.

"I don't know if it relaxes you to get to 40 points, and it will probably be a lot less than 40 (to stay up) this year, but it does mean you can feel a bit better about yourself."

Everton, for whom this was a fourth game in 11 days, now face Sunderland in an FA Cup quarter-final replay on Tuesday.

And Moyes admits the three points was a welcome boost ahead of the trip to Wearside.

"I wasn't thinking about the Cup, I was only focused on this game," he said.

"It was obviously good to win but it does not guarantee us a win on Tuesday, although it is always better to come from this position," the Everton manager, David Moyes, said.